The rules seem to imply you can choose to put combat cards on certain quests down face down so you can get a free white card... even if this action looks suspicious.l However this implies that laying them down face down on quests black knight, for example) is not usual... So... those get laid down face up normally?

The whole face down discard thing is silly to me as the potential not just for cheating but honest mistakes is too ripe.

I'm not sure I understand the question...or the call for help. It seems like you understand the rule; players can choose, in some quests, to put black cards face down and draw an extra white card.

Yes, players can make mistakes or they can flat-out lie about what kind of card they put face down. If a player is the Traitor, it can be a great strategy to put a strong card down on a quest like that and tell everyone it was weaker...though that might tip their hand if it's too obvious! The unknown is a part of the game and part of what makes it so fun...

I hope that helped explain a little bit. Let us know if that wasn't what you were looking for and someone else can give it a try!

Yes, normally black combat cards are played face up and everyone knows the value. However, the player whose turn it is, if he draws a black card with a numerical value (a combat card), may place that card face down on the corresponding quest (Lancelot & the Dragon or the Black Knight) and draw a white card, but no other player knows the value of the card.

Contrary to what Rasmussen81 said, the way I have always interpreted the rules is the value of the black card laid face down should NOT be revealed to the other players. Talking about the specific value of a card would be counter to the box on page 8, "A word on collaborating", IMO. However, you could talk about the relative strength in a manner that a knight would talk about the combat prowess of his enemy (e.g., "the Black Knight made a feeble attack"). Also, the rules on page 11 do say "you may choose to play it face down on the board to hide its numerical value from the rest of the group", and there really is no point in hiding the value from the group if you are allowed to talk about the specific value afterwards (except to enable the traitor to lie).

However, the traitor can still act as a traitor by placing a large valued card or by implying the enemy is weak in its latest attack.

Also when the quest has been completed, either because there are the full number of white or black cards on the quest, the black cards are supposed to be shuffled before revealing them, so it does not expose a traitorous act.

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The whole face down discard thing is silly to me as the potential not just for cheating but honest mistakes is too ripe.

I don't see how cheating is possible under these rules (except if a player reveals the specific value of the card played). You place cards and add their value after the quest is done. Simple enough.

I also don't see what mistakes you are referring to except again accidentally revealing the numerical value of the card to other players or forgetting which values you placed face down and losing the quest a result. But the latter mistake is what you trade-off for getting to draw additional white cards.